AMHERST, Mass. – Powered by big games from senior
Devon Laing and sophomore
Emily Pogorelec, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's volleyball team came away with a huge 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-20) win over Amherst College on Friday. The Corsairs and the Mammoths have not faced off in thirty years, and this win marks UMD's first in the all-time matchup between these two programs. The Corsairs have won seven in a row and have won 21 of their last 22 individual sets. The Corsairs' record improves to 14-6, while the Mammoths slide to 6-10.
It was evident off the rip that this was not going to be an easy win for either team, with an electric first set that set the tone early. In the opening set, a few early mistakes from Amherst College helped UMass Dartmouth pull ahead 8-4. Sophomore
Sabrina Bordone tallied the first of many service aces for the Corsairs as they took a 16-10 lead. Down six, the Mommoths came storming back, rattling off seven consecutive points with senior Chloe Chanren handling the serves to take their first lead of the set, 17-16. The two teams battled for the remainder of the set, and with a 22-21 lead for the Corsairs, junior
Kate Wade recorded the final three kills to close out the first set, 25-22 for UMass Dartmouth.
The second set saw the Corsairs' most dominant frame of the day. With the set tied at 9-9, freshman
Skye Peters took the serve over and spurred a 16-3 run for the Corsairs. Peters recorded two service aces on her way to seven straight points for UMD, with Laing slamming home two kills in that stretch as well. Believe it or not, this was just the first of two 16-3 runs the Corsairs would go on in this match. The run gave the Corsairs set number two in convincing fashion, 25-12.
Amherst College showed that they were not going to go out easy to start the third set. The frame remained close, until with Amherst College leading 10-9, the Mammoths began their best run of the match and the scariest they had looked all night. They jumped way ahead and led the Corsairs 17-9, powered by some fantastic play from the senior pair of Chanren and Carly Cooper.
UMass Dartmouth was not ready to give up on the third set, and began turning it around while down eight points, their largest deficit of the match. Pogorelec's serve lasted the next five points for UMD, with two service aces for the LEC-leader in the stat. Pogorelec totaled five service aces for the day and has now hit 50 for the season. UMass Dartmouth seniors Laing and
Gabriella Monico stepped up in a big way to bring the Corsairs back in the set with three kills each. UMass Dartmouth went on their second 16-3 run of the match, rallying to a 25-20 win of the third set in miraculous comeback fashion.
UMass Dartmouth looked dominant once again as they take a massive win over a strong NESCAC program in Amherst College. The Corsairs recorded nine service aces as a team, with five coming from Pogorelec. Pogorelec showed why she is the reigning LEC Defensive Player of the Year, tallying 16 digs by diving all over the floor to stop the powerful strikes from the Mammoth attackers. Laing led the team in kills with 10 on .350 hitting. She also added a service ace and five digs. Wade continues to be a huge part of the Corsairs' attack, adding eight kills and 15 digs. Freshman
Skye Peters was the team-leader with 15 set assists.
The Mammoths had plenty of shining spots in this one despite the 3-0 loss. Sophomore Charlotte Rasmussen was dominant in the front line, leading all players by a large margin with 18 kills. Cooper led all players in set assists with 24. Cooper also added three service-aces, 15 digs, and had a few nifty touches to the open spot on the floor for four kills.
The UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team is right back at it tomorrow, Saturday, October 21, for two matches against VTSU Castleton and Rivier University. The action begins with the conference-battle with the Spartans at 11AM, followed by a match with the Raiders at 1PM.
